SHILLONG: State Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said the issues of teachers could not be solved at one go as the work was under progress and the department was trying to find ways and means to address their issues.
Stating that the teachers should understand that the department works are under constraints, he said, “Work is under progress as issues cannot be solved at one go. They have to understand the constraints. We all work for the benefit of the people.”
Stating that teachers, students, managing committees, governing bodies, students are stakeholders of Education, he said the education department was also looking into the demands of the ad hoc teachers, SSA teachers, lump sum grant of the teachers, scholarship of students, deficit colleges.
Rymbui added, “If the demand or the work is pending, it does not mean it is forgotten. We are working under constraints. Their issues are not baseless also. It is my endeavour to see and solve the teachers’ problems to find ways and means to streamline their problems. We are not sleeping.”
It may be mentioned that the Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers Association (KJDSTA) and Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers and Employees Association (GHDSTEA) will wear black ribbons as a symbol of their disappointment with the state government for not fulfilling their demands.
The organisations have demanded enhancement of Death-Cum Retirement Gratuity (DCRG). The teachers argued that the maximum limit for deficit school teachers has been Rs 3.5 lakh for the past 11 years even though the Meghalaya Fifth Pay Commission has fixed Rs 10 lakh as the maximum limit for DCRG.
Again, one of the immediate demands of the organisations is to release of the 2nd installment of arrears of revised pay before Teacher’s Day. The organizations demand from the government to release another 25 per cent of the pending arrears (2nd Installment) before the Teachers Day 2019.